Viggo at SLU

topaz Mar 05, 2003 9:48 am
I'm going to try to put into words the wonder and amazement I feel after the SLU weekend. For me it was Saturday March 1st when it all happened -- thank you Naja for mentioning that this date is both Aragorn's birthday and the date of King Elessar's death. What better day to go to Canton to celebrate and remember? I had taken my two daughters to Kingston the night before, to spend the weekend with their dad. So bright and early Saturday morning I set out for Canton. It was nice to have been there once before, even if most of the drive to get tickets Feb. 17th had been in the dark! I drove along the sunlit highway, surrounded by ice-covered crystal trees. It was beautiful. I stopped several times to take pictures -- I'm sure Viggo would have too -- and I guess from reading some of the other reports, he did. There were more crystal trees on the SLU campus, right in front of the building where it all took place. So I took more pictures, and then went inside to look at HIS pictures.

The gallery was beautifully set up, with some of Viggo's poems printed on the walls, and the photographs with their mostly brilliant colours in vivid contrast to the white of the walls. (The first poem one "met" on the wall was Back to Babylon. I was really glad they had put it there, since it was so fresh and immediate. The others were Clear, Hillside, Ontario, and "You are sweating in your sleep..." There were some beautiful tropical flower arrangements, too. There were very few people, so all was quiet and very peaceful. The larger room on the right (where Viggo later signed books) also had a number of black-and-white photographs, the highlight being the large Sueno del Retiro (which is on the cover of Coincidence of Memory.) I stood there gazing at it for ages, always discovering new things. As I shared in my last message, I found myself writing a poem about it -- and then about the four "Lost" pictures (these are on p.8 of the SLU reports). I was amazed at the way this just happened. It felt like a dream. A good dream....

Buttercup had already arrived, with her friend JK, as had Mo. The four of us spent a good part of the day together, and it was so nice to get to know them in "real life" after seeing their names on my computer screen. (Buttercup and I had of course become acquainted during our drive to get tickets!) This turned out to be a lovely and for me unexpected part of the weekend -- meeting others whose lives have been touched by this awesome man we all came to see. Thank you Mo and Buttercup for sharing that wonderful day with me! And thanks to Clarissa for giving Mo and me tickets for the Fellowship film in the evening (instead of just mailing her two extra tickets to the people who couldn't be there to use them, she let us use them first! -- yes, they're being mailed back to you as we speak....) We had lunch in the cafeteria, and then it was time for the poetry reading.

Leslie has already posted a list of which poems Viggo read. I'll try to do a transcript of what he said about them -- but later. I believe it was the president of the university who introduced him, starting with the comment that when he looked up Viggo Mortensen on the internet, he found 86,800 references! (And that he didn't read them all.) When I tried to do that a year ago, to find out WHO this man was who played Aragorn in LOTR, I think I got about 500.

We sat in the 3rd row right at the end with the podium, but Viggo sat instead on the edge of the stage in the centre to read. We were told before Viggo came out that it was fine to take flash photos at the start and at the end, but not once he began to read -- which was only common sense. I don't think he minded all the flashing cameras at the start, and everyone was certainly respectful and refrained from doing it during the reading. This was the first time I have seen him in the flesh. He looked wonderful, but that didn't surprise me. He wore a pale (beige?) suit with stripes woven into it, and a dark green shirt. His hair was sandy blond, and fairly long. The button on his lapel said "US troops out of the Middle East". I didn't think he was particularly nervous at the start -- it just took a while for him to adjust to the microphone and find a good level of sound. He does sound somewhat shy, quite an endearing quality along with that charming smile...

He spoke with simplicity, candour, humility, but also eloquence -- about his experiences when writing the poems, about his feelings, about how important it was for people to have the freedom to question, to discuss, in order for momentous decisions about things such as war to be made consciously and for the right reasons. He was very respectful of others' views in all he said, and his sincerity was very moving. He dedicated "Fossils" to the people of Afghanistan, Iraq, AND the United States.

He read mostly from Coincidence of Memory, at times having trouble finding the poem he wanted. (It occurred to me that if he'd said out loud which one he was looking for, there were probably many in the audience who could have told him on which page to find it!) He was the one who chose all the poems, but he chose all the ones I would have wanted him to read. He has a wonderful voice -- it was a privilege to hear him read.

And then came the book signing. This would be the moment when I would really meet him! Buttercup and JK had saved Mo and me a place in line, so we all entered the gallery quite early in the afternoon. Viggo did look somewhat tired, but he spoke to each person with genuine interest and caring. The line was VERY long, so it was no wonder the gallery people told us we could only have a very short time with him, and couldn't have any posed photos, only candid ones.

Buttercup was in front of me. She was giving him all the presents from her abundant gift bag, and I was taking some pictures. I was waiting for the reaction to the V-GO juice. We'd been drinking it at our house for the past few weeks and enjoying it -- in fact I had a large bottle of it in the trunk of my car at that very moment. He looked at it and burst out laughing -- it was such a genuine laugh of surprise and delight. Happy birthday, Aragorn! My camera snapped at just the right moment. As soon as I can get these pictures on CD, I'll send them. That one is GOOD!

And then it was my turn. There were too many things I wanted to say to him, and I knew I couldn't say them all. So I had written a letter to give to him, and I was glad I had. At the last minute I enclosed the poems I'd written that morning when looking at his photographs.

I am a composer. I love setting poetry to music, and have wanted to set some of Viggo's poetry (in fact he had just read all the poems I have in mind for this!) I had written to him about it, and sent him some of my music (before October), but hadn't yet had a reply. I had brought along a CD of my new composition to give to him. I was able to say a little about how much he'd inspired me by who he was. (In retrospect it felt inadequate, but he had the letter.) I gave him the CD, and mentioned I'd sent him some other music before -- and he REMEMBERED ME. He also remembered I was Czech. He asked me how to say "thank you" in Czech. ("Dekuji.") Then he asked me to spell it so he could write it in my copy of Hole in the Sun (next to Blue #4 which I love, and which was hanging in the next room.) And when I asked him if I could set some of his poetry to music, he smiled and said sure, that was fine.

He was fully present during the brief time we had together, and made me feel that I had his undivided attention. He genuinely cared. I could feel what a KIND man he was. It must take an enormous amount of energy to do this for each person who comes, and a new person every few minutes, for four hours. (Someone later said he took a two-minute break once!) He is very generous, and I hope that all the love we have for him can help him to feel good about what he does for people.

When it was Mo's turn I was still in a bit of a dream, and almost forgot to take pictures with her camera! The gallery people wanted us to leave pretty soon, but we managed another good look at the second room before leaving. We went out for some supper, and soon Mo and I had to be back for the 7:30 screening of the xtended Fellowship of the Ring. On our way in I got the big bottle of V-GO out of my trunk, put it in a plastic bag, and as we walked past the gallery door (yes, there were still people lined up and yes, he was still being attentive to each one...) I handed it to the friendly gallery lady (as opposed to the other, unfriendly gallery lady whose job it was to shoo people out!). She remembered Buttercup giving him the little cans of V-GO, so I told her this was a refill and could she please get it to him? She said she would, and as we went around to look in from the far door, I could see the big bodyguard carrying my bag over to Viggo's desk and putting it with his growing pile of gifts. So I hope he enjoys it!

While we were waiting for the movie, we saw Viggo's mother come in. So we decided to go and talk to her. As Mo has already said, she is a lovely, elegant, gracious lady (anyone surprised?) She too seemed genuinely interested in us, where we came from, and what it was about Viggo that had inspired me. (Help! Once again I was being asked to put it into a few brief sentences-- I can't do it!) Yes, her name is Grace. And in fact she reminded me of Grace Kelly (and maybe also Katharine Hepburn?) I'd just read something in the local paper which I'd found very sweet -- that when she watches movies with her son in them, she often gets so wrapped up in the story that she forgets he's in them! It was a surprise to hear her say her father was from Nova Scotia -- that would make Viggo 1/4 Canadian, wouldn't it?

All the events of the day were about 20 minutes late, so Viggo arrived about 7:45. I already posted what he said, as well as what the man who introduced him said. Viggo wasn't on stage during the introduction, so I'm not sure if he heard it all or what he thought of it. I thought it was great! The man said Viggo had spent a year on SLU's program in Madrid. He didn't talk about Oxford -- that came from some other message.

To hear Viggo talk about my favourite movie (well, The Two Towers is up there too, but they're really all one long one, aren't they?) was a real treat. I love what he said at the start of the TTT Visual Companion, and this too focused on the need for co-operation and compassion between people of different backgrounds. In contrast to those who have recently been misinterpreting TTT by claiming it was pro-war and particularly pro- US/Iraq war, Viggo said he believed today's audiences were drawn to both movies precisely because they are about this need for compassion. More than an hour later, when Strider pulled down his hood to say "Are you frightened?" , the audience applauded and cheered. And so we travelled again the road from the Shire to Bree to Rivendell to Moria to Lothlorien to Amon Hen.... What a journey. At the end of it Mo and I went back to the gallery where we wandered until it closed at midnight -- to finish as we had started ("and know the place for the first time" as T.S. Eliot would say). Not all who wander are lost....

We stayed at a motel in Potsdam about 10 miles away, since most accommodations in Canton were full due to a track and field meet (not to mention Viggo's events). The next morning I drove back to Canton, to spend some quiet hours in the Fine Arts wing of the same building, working on adapting The Hobbit into a Grade 5 play.... but that's another story.

As I drove those 10 miles I listened to the soundtrack of The Two Towers, and the "Leave-taking" music of the elves began. That's when the emotion of it all really hit me, and tears began streaming down my face -- because it was over, although it would never really be over because it would live in my heart forever; because it had been so glorious; because he had such a wonderful spirit that we were all privileged to be touched by it; because I had truly met him and now I KNEW that no matter whether he was a star, or the sexiest man in Hollywood, or whatever label one might give a famous person, that he was so very HUMAN, so genuine, vulnerable, caring, earnestly trying to follow his calling.

He had doubts and fears, and he felt all the things I've felt. I'd really noticed the melancholic elements of his temperament -- the brooding artist, with sadness in many of the poems and photographs, the fine attention to detail in everything. And I'd also heard him speak more lightly, and LAUGH -- I'd heard his REAL voice, rather than his "acting voice". He is a terrific actor -- but when he is with people as he was here, he doesn't act -- he just is himself. And now I have glimpsed who that is, and I am filled with gratitude for that.

The Leaving of the elves. The leaving of what took place at St. Lawrence University, of being a part of it all, of being in his presence.... Leave-taking. Mo going back to Montreal. Viggo going to spend time with his family. Aragorn and Legolas and Gimli going to rescue Merry and Pippin.... It all brought back the time last summer when I was reading The Return of the King. After all the horrendous and glorious events, the hobbits eventually say good-bye to the King, and then to Gandalf, and they travel the journey of the Fellowship in reverse -- every step taking them away from grandeur and into the ordinary world. There is a sense of loss in that, and it is not easy -- but they are able to do it because they are changed. They are different because of what they had experienced. They can do anything. They can cope with anything. They have inner strength that is empowering and invincible. And I could feel something of that in me. One stage of my journey is over -- another begins. And when fear comes and I know my defenses have to hold, I hear that voice: "They will hold."
See a great pic that Topaz took of Viggo getting his "Vig" juice here